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Online
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Graphic-rich dislocation and stress transfer software |
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| Our team studies how processes like earthquakes, volcanoes and
human activities deform the ground surface. To measure the ground
deformation,
we use radar satellite images that we combine together. From this
comparison the ground elevation change can be viewed and measured
within a few millimeters on very broad area. InSAR (Interferomatetric
Satellite Aperture Radar images) is the perfect tool to monitor
very
subtle ground elevation changes. |
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What is InSAR?
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Earthquakes are produced by the release of stress on discrete breaking
planes of the earth's crust. When that stress is released in large
earthquakes the deformation can be obsered and measured. This gives
us an idea of the size of the fault and its geometry. Often, large
earthquakes occur on a faults that are not very well known. And looking
at the pattern of deformation is one of the ways we can have an
insight
on their characteristics. |
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Volcanoes deform constantly. Obviously during eruptions, the magma
injected from down below has to work its way through surrounding rock,
and this creates slow ground movements that can be detected with InSAR.
But also when a volcano is in relative quiescence, we can monitor
the injection of magma at depth because that deformation too reaches
the surface. Again, this tool allows us to understand better how volcano
work. |
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In all places where there is an underground resource, people have
dug to get at it and extracted it. But often the ground settles and
deforms from this human induced activity. InSAR allows us to monitor
water and oil pumping or injection cycle over the seasons and to measure
the behaviour over the years. |
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